Crab Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from all-recipes: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pea-n-Crab-Pasta-Salad/Detail.aspx in an attempt to use some leftover imitation crab from an earlier sushi extravaganza. It was amazing. In the time it took to boil the pasta al dente (7-8 mins, according to the box of medium shells) I was able to get all the other ingredients together. Mix and enjoy! Potato is generally not a big fan of spinach or peas, but he ate them up with no complaints!!

Cooking Club: Thai Food!

September Cooking Club. The Menu: Tom Yum Soup and Chicken Satay to start, then Red Curry, Drunken Noodles, Thai Green Beans, and Pad Thai for the main entree, and to cap of the night: Mango Sticky Rice!!

The Tom Yum Soup featured Kaffir Lime Leaves and jumbo shrimp in a delightfully spicy blend that had some of our cooking club attendees crying! For the more sensitive pallets, Amanda (the creator of this fiery soup) suggested adding coconut milk to the broth. This was delicious! The Chicken Satay was marinated with turmeric, cumin, and other savory spices before being broiled and served hot with Thai peanut dipping sauce. The dish was very reminiscent of Indian spices, which might be due to the fact that Sundhu (chef for the satay) is, in fact, Indian.

The red curry was fantastic, with fresh snow peas and red peppers, and despite Lindsey's (chef) personal wishes: fresh broccoli. The curry wasn't very spicy, which was actually a welcome relief since we were still recovering from the soup! The thai green beans (chef: Allison) were seasoned in a divine sweet/savory sauce including (I believe) cashew butter and sesame oil. The overall flavor strongly hinted at peanut sauce.

For a dish that was proclaimed to be "an utter disaster," the Pad Thai was actually pretty good. Chef Julia used buckwheat noodles as a measure of desperation after failing to find pad thai rice noodles at the grocery store. The end result was a more casserole-like pad thai, but all the flavor was there so we were just as happy! The drunken noodles (my contribution) were not spicy at all, and the tofu was a bit vinegar/lime juicy (I guess the word I am looking for is tangy)-- but the dish gets plus points from me for the complex flavor attributed to the fish, oyster, soy, sauces and the rice vinegar. The recipe came from a food blog: http://www.desertmodernism.com/blog/2006/01/thai_drunken_noodles_pad_kee_m.php

I of course, rarely follow recipes with 100% accuracy.. and in this dish I added snow peas, thai eggplant, and one of those long yellow-green banana-pepper (but bigger) peppers. I loved the veggies.. and recommend adding some if you want to try the recipe.

Alas I did not take a picture of the mango sticky rice (chef: Sundhu)- by that time in the evening my stomach was full and my camera tucked away from the food carnage that ensued immediately after the photos were taken. Oh well, Shes just going to have to make it again! bwahahahahaha!

Archive Posting Begins

Many of you might have noticed the recent lack of posts-- never fear, I have not stopped cooking! Due to some computer issues, I was taking pictures and saving them to post later...well.. I just uploaded ALL of them: I have my work cut out for me! Hopefully I will be posting a few posts per day to slowly archive my recipes. Enjoy!

Harvest! and New Farmers Market

My bell pepper plant yielded a mighty harvest of 5 peppers yesterday...coupled with a few tomatoes from the vine (total harvest so far: 6 tomatoes), I had an amazing burrito with fresh garden salsa!

Also- There is a new farmers market in town, near the King Street Metro station, across from the Hilton in the small park demarcated by King Street and Diagonal Road. Wednesdays 3-7PM. I've had great luck with the produce from the market-- especially the collared greens (they lasted forever in the fridge!)

Sprouts!

I am trying my hand at home-made (is that the right word?) sprouts! After some internet research and a few phone calls to mom, I have come up with an action plan:

Day 1: Soak whole mung beans in water
Day 2: Rinse and drain soaked mung beans. Wrap in wet paper towel and set in a bowl in a warm dark place
Day 3: Observe, Rinse and wrap again in wet paper towel
Day 4: Observe, if sprouts are long enough, dry on paper towel and store in fridge in zip-lock baggie

Today is Day 3. Progress is steady, I have sprouts about 1/4 inch long (so still pretty small). So far no traces of mold or anything like that (which I am worried about in my 70 deg kitchen).. the sprouts are more puny than the mung bean sprouts you buy at the store, but my online reading suggests that this is because store-bought sprouts are grown in controlled temp environments with chemicals and gasses and other things that lil ol me won't (or can't) add to a bunch of beans in water.

Shrimp-A-Palooza

Get Ready! The recipe list is growing for Shrimp A Palooza, an amazing new annual event in which I prepare a multitude of delicious shrimpies for everyone to consume! :)

Friday, 6:30PM. My House. Be there!

Guacamole Breakfast Burrito

Today is the first day post Cinco de Mayo, so what better way to celebrate than with leftover Guacamole... in a breakfast burrito! I fantasized about such a creation the night before, wondering what to do with all the leftover Guac from Lindsey's (of Hungry Eyes fame) Cinco de Mayo (ie, Cinco de Drinko) dinner party. I thought that just scrambled eggs and guac might be a smooth and creamy option by themselves, but I couldn't resist the urge to add my favorite breakfast potatoes into the spinach tortilla wrap as well. And, as a big cheese head, I added a slice of pepper jack over the steaming eggs.

It was delicious! The spicy onion-cilantro-ness of the guacamole complemented the smooth scrambled eggs in both texture and taste. The cheese added some saltiness and some bite with the pepper-jack and the spinach tortilla contributed with a subtle veggie flavor.. and the potatoes. Oh. Just when you thought, hey this is pretty good, BAM! you bite in to a crispy-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside breakfast potato. Bliss for breakfast.

Basil Turbot Fillet with Roasted Mixed Veggies and Rice

My mom has been in town recently; hence my.. ahem.. complete lack of posts for April. I have been eating to my hearts content every night without breaking a sweat..

So now that she is back home again :( I am going to have to familiarize myself with the kitchen...again..

Today's meal is a simple fix, with lots of vegetables, a pre-marinated fish fillet for protein, and a small amount of rice to provide fuel for the day. The fish (frozen, Trader Joes) was baked at 375 degrees for 34 mins, but was overcooked, so if I had a do-over, I would have taken it out of the oven about 5 minutes earlier.

The mixed vegetables are essentially the only thing I prepared, with sliced baby portobello mushrooms, sliced zucchini and summer squash, onions and a diced tomato. I roasted all of these together in a small amount of olive oil and added a dash of freshly ground peppercorns and salt. The key to this is to set the stove to high, add the mushrooms and onions and let them brown (if youve prepared portobello mushrooms before you will know this alone will smell amazing) then turn the heat to medium and add the squash and tomato. Simple summer flavor!

Peeps Cake!!

This 4-storey cake is strawberry and vanilla checkerboard cake with whipped vanilla icing and 38 peeps decorating the outer surface. Lindsey of hungry eyes fame hosted an amazing Easter dinner party and this was my contribution...

The cake is leaning slightly.. mostly because of my inaccurate top-cutting technique to flatten each layer before adding the next. I hacked at it with a bread knife, eyeballing how straight the cut was. The cake was finished by 1PM, and the party was at 4. By 2, the cake was leaning dangerously.. so much so that I devised a plan to insert a chopstick or skewer through it to hold it steady. I didn't have any of either on hand.. but I had a straight plastic straw from subway. The unwrapped straw was a bit flimsy.. but I poked it straight through the center of the cake, and I credit the brave little subway straw for maintaining the cake integrity until after dinner...at which time the great peeps cake massacre began.. and my oh my, what a glorious massacre it was!

Parathas, Peas Panneer, and Okra

A much needed trip to the local Indian store fueled my desire for this favorite of mine. I bought frozen parathas (delicious and completely hassel free.. but Im pretty sure nutritionally its the "big mac" of Indian food), premade paneer, and a large frozen bag of okra.

The peas paneer recipe comes from The "Ultimate Vegetarian" Cookbook. With premade paneer, the recipe is complete in about 20 minutes. 1 med onion is fried in vegetable oil or ghee. The dry spices and ginger garlic mix are added to the lightly browned onions, then peas and 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 c broth is added to the mix. The whole deal is simmered for 10 mins, then add the lightly toasted paneer and youre all set! Note-- if you dont have paneer, well fried tofu can substitute. The flavor is definately not the same (the paneer is a rich cheese with a distinct flavor, whereas tofu has more of a distinct texture but lacks much flavor), but it is a healthier and more locally available alternative and will work in this recipe.

Okra, commonly called lady's fingers or in Tamil vendaikkai is my favorite vegetable. Fresh okra is identifyable by breaking the tip, if the tip breaks cleanly with a snap, the okra is fresh. Frozen okra.. well.. you take what you can get. Generally it is cut into 1/4 inch pieces, which works out well for a plain okra fry.

To make plain okra, fry mustard seeds and urad dhal in a small amount of oil until the mustard seeds pop and the urad dhal turns light brown (careful-- burning the spice mix means you have to start over) Add cut onions and fry a few mins, till lightly brown. Then, add the frozen okra. Cook over medium heat for a while, stirring to thaw the okra. Once thawed, add about 1/4 cup water and let simmer. Add salt and a small pinch of chili pepper, and youre ready to enjoy the simple okra fry. This part of the meal is actually good for you.. but the effects are negated with the paneer and paratha...and especially negated if you opt (as I did) for the rasmalai dessert.